Premium ContentMouse over Home then click on Premium Content for information.The Westside school board voted 4-2 Monday to hire a Wisconsin administrator as Westside's new superintendent, despite entreaties by some in the audience to delay a decision to weigh community opinion.
Blane McCann, 54, currently superintendent of the Shorewood School District in a Milwaukee suburb, was supported by board members Kathy Bradley, Rosie Zweiback, David Woodke and Martha Slosburg. Tom Baker and Scott Hazelrigg voted no.
The vote came after a spirited but civil discussion. School district residents filled the roughly 80 seats, with about a dozen people standing during the proceedings.
Several community members, including the co-chairman of a community stakeholder group and a retired Westside administrator, urged the board to delay its decision and give greater consideration to the community input the board had sought.
Others, however, including the president of the teachers' union, expressed trust in the decision and said the board had followed its selection process.
McCann will become Westside's ninth superintendent. Superintendent Jacquie Estee announced in August that she would retire at the end of the current school year after a 40-year career with the district, including four as superintendent.
Bradley, the board's president, acknowledged that the selection process had ignited passionate feelings.
“It's our duty to pull together and support our school district, and I trust that's what we in the school district and the community will do,” she said.
McCann, who attended the meeting, said that when people have a passion for education they are engaged in their schools.
He said he would “continue to use that passion to continue to build on the success” of the district.
Before the vote, Hazelrigg, one of the two dissenters, said he knew the community would rally behind whomever was selected. However, the board “may miss the opportunity to hit a home run,” he said.
One candidate, John Burke, superintendent of the Haysville (Kan.) Unified School District, with 5,000 students, dropped out of the process before the board began deliberations.
The other finalists were Mark Miles, deputy superintendent of the Park Hill School District in Kansas City, Mo.; Andy Rikli, assistant superintendent of administrative operations for the Westside Community Schools; and Eric Weber, Westside's assistant superintendent of human resources.
Bradley, Woodke and Zweiback said that in their estimation McCann stood out among the five finalists as exceptional. He led a district that, like Westside, has very high expectations from parents, Zweiback said.
Woodke said McCann previously held several positions in the 22,000-student Kenosha, Wis., district. At Shorewood, with about 2,000 students, he faced eight years of budget shortfalls and maintained a 94 percent graduation rate, Woodke said.
Bradley said that both U.S. News and World Report and Newsweek listed Shorewood High School among the best in the United States.
“I want these things this man will bring to our kids,” she said.
Under the three-year contract approved Monday, McCann will be paid an annual salary of $185,000 plus benefits. The contract takes effect July 10.
Bradley said McCann had announced his retirement from Shorewood — effective in July — about the same time he was named a Westside finalist.
All five finalists, chosen from an initial candidate pool of 28, went through full-day interviews. They toured schools and visited with pre-selected groups of students, residents and parents, foundation and volunteer council members, and administrators and teachers. The day ended with public interviews conducted by the school board.
Bill Conley, co-chairman of a community stakeholder group, was among those Monday night urging the board to take more time and seek additional input.
The group — made up of members of the Westside Community Schools Foundation, the district's volunteer council and other community leaders — determined that four of the five candidates merited further consideration. McCann, the group concluded, did not.
Conley said that on the day his group met with McCann members felt he “didn't possess the necessary leadership talents and characteristics.”
Some committee members have since said they would support the board, said Conley, who also is chairman of the foundation.
“This decision is a big one,” he said in a statement he read to the board, “and should not be rushed or made without careful consideration and listening to input from all stakeholders.”
Bert Jackson, who retired a year and a half ago as an associate superintendent, also urged delay and further review.
But Alan Bone, president of the Westside Education Association, said teachers saw the selection process as a fair one.
“And we trust you to do what's best,” he told the board.
Baker made two motions to delay the decision, the first for two weeks and the second for a week. Both were defeated by votes of 2-4.
Under the contract, McCann, who has served as Shorewood superintendent since 2003, will live in the district.
He holds a doctorate in educational policy and leadership from Marquette University. He and his wife, Marie, have five children.
Contact the writer: 402-444-1223, julie.anderson@owh.com
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